Battersea Car Boot Sale

Time Out says

Details

Users say
(21)

4 out of 5 stars

Time Out says

We love that this sale opens up at noon, meaning you needn’t sacrifice a Sunday lie in to get the best pieces on offer. On our visit (a mid-afternoon rummage) we left with a selection of pre-loved designer pieces (including a gorgeous Givenchy skirt suit), a £12 mountain bike and vintage Singer sewing machine for under a tenner. On the whole, the sale is not the cheapest of its kind, but is certainly more high-end than most, so is perhaps a better choice for the seasoned vintage lover rather than those in search of a bargain.

I first went to battersea boot fair just before christmas 2013, everyone used to say to me its the best dealers use this one. All i can say is that it is a good boot fair, but i have been to quite a few and i even run a online one and i would say that battersea is one of the best.

I love this place and book in to sell 5 or 6 times a year. The rest of the time I go there to buy. I agree with another reviewer that paying £5 is not for me - I gather it's worthwhile for the 'real' dealers though. I like to pay £3 to beat the rush of buyers going in at 1.30pm and find it good value.
I love the fact that they keep their Facebook page up to date and let me know when they're almost sold out etc. It gives me a reminder when I meant to book. There's been many a time I've got a pitch by the skin of my teeth thanks to a Facebook post!! They don't fill it with crap either - just keep it relevant.
Anyhow, I digress. I love this boot. It's been one of the best if not THE best in my opinion for many years. The staff are always friendly and so helpful - especially when you're booking a pitch, they certainly go 'above and beyond' in my experience. It is organised with military precision. I've seen others try to copy it but none do it as well at the guys at Battersea. I've NEVER had to queue up to get a pitch, I can have a lay in on a Sunday and still do a boot sale and make some cash. Brilliant and unbeatable.

Fantastic as always. Battersea has been the best car boot sale in London for many a year, and despite having ups and downs it always bounces back busier than ever. All the critics out there may try their best to run it down but their reviews are transparent and it's very easy for anyone to see they work for the (poor) competition. You get what you pay for - great service (and yes, I have tried the others) very busy, friendly safe atmosphere, great food. I could go on and on. In a nutshell it's a great afternoon out for the family. Pick up a few bargains and stop moaning.

Battersea strikes again! I picked up some fabulous stuff there in the last few weeks - half furnished my new flat, got a few nice vintage ish bits and pieces, picked up some current cd's. The food options are great (local baker is fab) It's been mad busy over the past few months and I haven't been able to book a pitch to sell (I oversleep every Monday when the bookings start and miss out!!) but for buying, it's just ...WOW!
Can't fault this place. And to the person who gave it a bad review... YES there ARE FAR WORSE boot sales in London, LOTS of them!!! This IS the best. But it's not Marrakech! It's a London car boot sale!! lol

FANTASTIC BOOT SALE, REALLY BUSY. IF YOU DON'T MAKE MONEY HERE I DON'T THINK YOU COULD MAKE MONEY ANYWHERE. REALLY HELPFUL STAFF, NICE ATMOSPHERE IN THE PLACE AND A BOOKING SYSTEM SO YOU DON'T NEED TO GET UP EARLY TO QUEUE UP FOR A SPACE.
(sorry about cap lock!)

Fantastic carboot, well run, friendly and super popular. Absolutely heaving with buyers every time I go and I've sold out every time. I certainly can't complain and I can't imagine why people would complain about a boot sale being "stuffed to the gunnels with sellers and jam packed with buyers"... Isn't that the whole point??!!
I'd rather go there and be rushed off my feet than some of the others where the vision of tumble weed springs to mind! It's a busy boot sale where you make plenty of money. What more could you ask for?

I'd give this 10 stars if I could... Fantastic! Best car boot sale I've ever been to. It totally lives up to its reputation. It was busy when I attended and I made lots of money. They don't exaggerate in the information they offer on their website - I think, if anything, they undersell the place! It WAS packed with buyers.
I went last Sunday (17/2/13) and had a £20 pitch which I would never do again, I would rather pay the £30 to set up before the buyers come in... it was MAD!
Having read all the reviews on here I am mystified and can only imagine the bad reviewers went somewhere else altogether or are working for the competition. This is an excellent car boot sale, busy and well organised. Staff were friendly, patient and helpful from booking right through to helping me to pack my tables and giving my car a jump start! I'll be going back and cannot recommend Battersea highly enough.

Well run, much busier than others nearby, sold lots and will go again. Would recommend to anyone wanting to get rid of stuff but who doesn't want to get up early and go to a sale where you sit around twiddling your thumbs whilst waiting for the next customer to wander by. I paid £30 for my pitch which is a lot but I feel the added benefits were more than worth the extra cost. I earned more than double what I usually earn at a boot sale. Just watch your stall, the customers were 3 or 4 deep at my table at some points and hands reach through and grab things without you knowing who it was. I almost had a couple of things stolen so be alert!

great boot. went in the rain as i was all prepared and didn't want to miss it. covered my pitch cost and made £130 on top - not bad for a rainy day in january! i can only imagine how busy it must be like on sunny days and cant wait to go back in summer.

Love love love this boot sale! Have found some amazing bits for my own collections and to sell on. Even when it's not busy, it's busy, if you see what I mean. Always appears very well organised though I've never sold here, I've only bought. But friends who have sold say the organisation is great and you don't have to queue up to get a spot.

Found some of my best buys here, yeah you get some crap but find me a boot sale that doesn't have some crap!!! I can't believe the bad reviews for this place are genuine, they must be written by the competition.
I've been going to battersea since it opened, must be 10 years or more. No complaints from me. It's a brilliant boot sale, hard to beat.

This is still the best car boot I can find by far. At least the busy footfall means you have more opportunity to make some money. I've tried all the others in London and while they may be cheaper to attend they don't get the footfall that Battersea does so I don't make anywhere near as much money.
I've always found the organisers to be very friendly and willing to help, though they ARE sometimes under stress because they operate such a smooth running boot sale. This is not a tiny playground with half a dozen sellers all claiming to have 'vintage'. There's a great variation of stuff for sale here, obviously including some rubbish... it IS a car boot sale.
Personally, I think all boot sales have changed so much over the past few years and I feel it's unfair of people to claim Battersea is not as good as it was. NO boot sale is as good as it was! We're in the middle of a recession! The boot sale itself shouldn't be slagged off because some sellers are rude or people charging the prices they do - you can find that anywhere. I love it at Battersea and would never go anywhere else when I want to sell. I only go 5 or 6 times a year, always sell out and find it to be a well run value for money experience. The only negative thing I could say about it is it's a shame they have to charge so much for pitches., but then again, I find it worthwhile so can't really complain.

Was the first time yesterday I have been to a car boot sale and I think will be the last for a very long time! some sellers are incredibly rude-especially the Polish woman selling silver jewellery- I am still shocked by that.. it must be the credit crunch but none of the sellers I approached, were open to bargaining which I found very strange, given the extraordinary prices they want to charge for their junk..all in all very shocked and disappointed ..I just wanted to have a good afternoon after reading positive reviews but was ruined by the rude ridiculous sellers..never mind won't be back

Geting to small no room to walk around the stalls , price for stalls to high .
trying to get as many stalls in has possible in to a small space no room to park £5 to go in before opening down to £3
and down to 50p when open rip off seller selling to seller only look's the busiest
has you can not walk round H&S RISK Everyone in your face

I was HUGELY dissapointed.
We've arrived about eleven am, jumped in after the gate opening and immediately realized, that almost all they have there is crap. Some '80 cheapest chandelier, '70 casted pans, dirty, heavily read harlequins, worn shoes and handbags and worst rated CD's...
Honestly, I was so dissapointed - I've realized, that waiting half hour longer would save me few quids - and it makes the difference, because sellers are still coming in - thus, if you don't want to stay here for the few hours (seller start time: 10:35am - 12:30pm, from their website), looking for new sellers' cars coming in and them starting to unload their stuff...
I am unable to express my disappointment - we've paid ten quids just to jump in on, supposedly, „most prestigous” carboot in London and laughed hard. Honestly - take a cheap plane to *any* average city (even small ones, like Zamosc, Radom or Gdynia) and you would be blown with the range and quality of goods - not only the old stuff found on the loft, but something unique, too.
Anyway - after visiting that, namely, „best” car boot in London we're afraid of seeing anything else - are they supposed to be EVEN worse? :D
Cheers